Raspberry Pi and Arduino to get cellular access with SIM card add-on

A new Kickstarter project aims to give Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards Internet access throughout the world with an add-on that allows integration with a SIM card.

SparqEE Cellv1.0 would need to raise $70,000 to get the technology to backers, with donors pledging at least $69 to get the device. SparqEE CEO Christopher Higgins, an engineer, said he plans to take the Kickstarter page live on August 20. For now, it's viewable in a draft form so that people can provide feedback.

Cellv1.0 consists of a board with a cellular chip, a power supply, and a SIM holder, as well as a "jumper board" that "includes level shifters for whatever voltage levels you're using (ex. 3.3V, 5V, or other)."

As for getting a SIM card, the Kickstarter suggests taking one out of your phone, purchasing a pre-paid SIM from a retailer, or buying them directly from SparqEE.

"We've contracted with a worldwide SIM provider, so SIMs from us are not only the lowest cost you'll find, but they work anywhere in the world," the company said. Coverage will come from "AT&T in US, 3G and GSM/GPRS Worldwide."

Lots of projects involving the Raspberry Pi and Arduino rely on Wi-Fi, so there would be plenty of ways to put the cellular connectivity to use. SparqEE's project suggestions include an "Arduino-enabled vehicle tracker to know exactly where your car is right from your smartphone," and a "small, solar-powered, RC helicopter that could fly across the US from the comfort of your desk."

If the Kickstarter is successful, the company hopes to ship the devices by November.

25 Reader Comments

Interesting. It beats ripping apart an existing burner cellphone to connect directly to the keypad. I may get one as I can think of a few projects, but I'll wait until their campaign has been live for a while to judge interest.

SparqEE's project suggestions include an "Arduino-enabled vehicle tracker to know exactly where your car is right from your smartphone," and a "small, solar-powered, RC helicopter that could fly across the US from the comfort of your desk."

Cellular shields have been available for Arduino for quite some time now.

This. Availability, with a common control format (AT codes) has existed for at least the past 4 years.

3G internet is a bit of an advantage for RasPi, but nothing mind-blowing either.

The only unique thing about this project is it's media coverage resulting in ubiquity, allowing for reduced prices. Even then, $69 is still the wrong place in the demand curve, and cheaper alternatives exist at $50

I understand why people cite prior art for the Arduino, but there's no easy way to do this with the PI. Even interfacing it with an Arduino with a cell shield, you're gonna have some difficulty getting it to work correctly.

I'll just stick with using a USB gsm dongle, cheaper , lower power and much less space used.Been using the e160 dongles for a while with other arm Linux boards as well as pi.

Arm Linux has been around for a good while (10+ years), though some people don't seem to realize the pi is just another arm Linux board.

What jonsmirl said on arduino!Arduino are great for getting started and for quick prototypes/testing(same for processing)and I use them a lot for thatbut end up limiting what's possible with the hardware and aren't a good fit for everything

I understand why people cite prior art for the Arduino, but there's no easy way to do this with the PI. Even interfacing it with an Arduino with a cell shield, you're gonna have some difficulty getting it to work correctly.

I understand why people cite prior art for the Arduino, but there's no easy way to do this with the PI. Even interfacing it with an Arduino with a cell shield, you're gonna have some difficulty getting it to work correctly.

I can do this for free --- just stick a Freedom pop USB stick in to a RaspPi. Freedompop even gives you 500MB free usage each month. http://www.freedompop.com. $45 refundable deposit for the USB stick.

It is pointless trying to attach a cell modem to an Arduino. Go get a PI or Beaglebone.

You know, the world doesn't consist only of some select US locales...

Anyways... good to see even more variety, even better to see it coming to the PI as well.

I don't quite get the point in this. Cellular networks differ all over the world. Many different frequencies and different standards. Trying to cover all this with add-on boards will be prohibitive. USB modems are a much better solution if (admittedly) not as well packaged. They are ridiculously cheap and drivers are usually available.

I'm currently using a 3G USB modem connected to a 5x5x2cm OpenWRT router. Not quite the same but very easy.

Cellular shields have been available for Arduino for quite some time now.

This. Availability, with a common control format (AT codes) has existed for at least the past 4 years.

3G internet is a bit of an advantage for RasPi, but nothing mind-blowing either.

The only unique thing about this project is it's media coverage resulting in ubiquity, allowing for reduced prices. Even then, $69 is still the wrong place in the demand curve, and cheaper alternatives exist at $50

The advantage of this project appears to be the 3G, which should allow for higher data rates. If GPRS is fast enough for your needs, then this project probably doesn't matter to you. They also seem to be looking for a chipset that can be used internationally.

There was mention of USB dongles, in other posts, and in terms of the RaspberryPi, I am suspecting that they could be drawing more power that the RPi can reliably provide, especially if there is already another USB device connected. Wireless is power hungry. As for the Arduino, well there is no USB socket that could be used.

If they can manage to make the shield lower profile, then that would be a nice extra.

One project I can imagine with a device like this is a remote weather station, though GPRS would probably provide sufficient data rates.

Cellular shields have been available for Arduino for quite some time now.

That's definitely true and a good point to consider, but there are several reasons why we came out with this offering - it's more about the ecosystem than the hardware itself.

Our project provides not only a lower cost device, a much smaller size, but also freely available servers for people to transfer data between devices, and affordable Worldwide SIMs if people need them. Not to mention everything is open source if they want to use it elsewhere.

We're actually going to use just the top board, the cellular portion, in a tracking device product we're working on that's the size of a key-chain since it's a very compact module and will be certified.

Cellular shields have been available for Arduino for quite some time now.

This. Availability, with a common control format (AT codes) has existed for at least the past 4 years.

3G internet is a bit of an advantage for RasPi, but nothing mind-blowing either.

The only unique thing about this project is it's media coverage resulting in ubiquity, allowing for reduced prices. Even then, $69 is still the wrong place in the demand curve, and cheaper alternatives exist at $50

Great points - Unfortunately the $69 initial price is due directly to the need for the 2/3G chipset. We did that because AT&T is discontinuing their 2G service in 2017 but wanted to allow worldwide usage, hence 2/3G. BUT, if you're going to use this in a production system, you really only need the top cellular portion which will be cheaper as a standalone product.

Thanks for that link to the GPRS shield, I hadn't seen that piece. Otherwise I haven't seen a comparable 3G offering out there.

I understand why people cite prior art for the Arduino, but there's no easy way to do this with the PI. Even interfacing it with an Arduino with a cell shield, you're gonna have some difficulty getting it to work correctly.

Arduino has done a great job in opensource all their tech to allow other devices to connect to it which we've already done.

Interface between hardware has come a long way in recent years and isn't as difficult as it once was.

The CELLv1.0 communicates flawlessly with the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other dev boards over a simple UART interface or even USB.

I'll just stick with using a USB gsm dongle, cheaper , lower power and much less space used.Been using the e160 dongles for a while with other arm Linux boards as well as pi.

Arm Linux has been around for a good while (10+ years), though some people don't seem to realize the pi is just another arm Linux board.

What jonsmirl said on arduino!Arduino are great for getting started and for quick prototypes/testing(same for processing)and I use them a lot for thatbut end up limiting what's possible with the hardware and aren't a good fit for everything

The same truth about the Arduino is true with the CELLv1.0, it definitely doesn't work for every situation especially if you're already familiar with cellular and have other hardware that supports your application. But for smaller or more integrated product, or for instances that people need the whole ecosystem (the servers, inexpensive SIMs), etc, the CELLv1.0 does very well.

Keep in mind that AT&T is discontinuing their 2G services in 2017, which is why we went with a 2/3G chipset - so it'll work anywhere in the world.

I don't quite get the point in this. Cellular networks differ all over the world. Many different frequencies and different standards. Trying to cover all this with add-on boards will be prohibitive. USB modems are a much better solution if (admittedly) not as well packaged. They are ridiculously cheap and drivers are usually available.

I'm currently using a 3G USB modem connected to a 5x5x2cm OpenWRT router. Not quite the same but very easy.

The underlying technology between a USB modem and the CELLv1.0 is no different, it just depends on the technology - 2/3/4G etc. In the case of worldwide applications, cellular board do just fine in any of the environments - GSM being one of the most common worldwide standards which the CELLv1.0 supports.

It's not the technology that limits worldwide service it's typically the SIM card, which we take care of as well for a very low cost - sparqee.com/products/sparqsim

Actually no, the GPRSbee is a GPRS/GSM device (2G) which is to be discontinued by AT&T in 2017. The CELLv1.0 is both a 2/3G device which can work on the 3G network when AT&T discontinues it or the 2G network which is most available worldwide.

There is a price difference but that's in the 3G chipset as well as the fact that if someone only needs the top cellular board, it will be available at a lower price than the combined dev kit.